Double-stand DNA foci formation in human skin fibroblasts after high-power THz pulses exposure

We report on the investigation of the biological effects of high-power pulsed broadband terahertz (THz) radiation on human skin fibroblasts. Cells were exposed to THz pulses with peak intensity ~30 GW/cm2 and electrical field strength ~3.5 MV/cm for 1.5 hours. Phosphorylation of H2AX (γH2AX foci) can be caused by different reasons including DNA double stand breaks, heat induction and can be related to chromosomes stability. However, the γH2AX foci seem to be a proper marker for detection of the effect of intense terahertz pulses on cells. The kinetics of phosphorylated histone H2AX foci post terahertz radiation exposure is analyzed. We found that the number of phosphorylated H2AX foci in human skin fibroblasts remained almost unchanged within 24 hours following terahertz exposure.